The Christmas Ball
Draco, Ron, and George waited impatiently outside Gryffindor Tower for their dates. Harry wasn't there. He didn't tell them whom he was taking, but said he'd meet them in the Great Hall.
Suddenly the portrait hole swung open, and Lexi stepped out. Draco's jaw dropped.
Lexi's soft lilac silk robes were made in classic medieval style, with a LOW neck and full bell shaped sleeves. A slit rose to mid thigh height on her left side. Open toes satin high heels that matched the dress and ended bare legs revealed lilac toenail polish that was the same shade as her fingernails and dress. Her hair was curled in a mushroom puff on the crown of her head, laced through with gold ribbon. She wore a gold oval locket with a small rose on the front, dangly gold earrings, gold dangle bracelets on both arms, and a gold charm bracelet on her left ankle. The only charm was a small bell that jingled as she moved. Rainbow glitter covered her neck and shoulders.
Sephie followed, and George swallowed and licked suddenly dry lips. Emerald robes flowed down, bell like, to her ankles. The skirt was layered from about thigh length to ankle length. Surrounding the neckline, button line, and belt of her robes were tiny incandescent feathers that changed colors as she moved. Around her neck was an opal ribbon, hanging from which was a star pendant made of emeralds. Emerald slippers and a bell ankle bracelet that was charmed the same opal as the feathers finished her off.
Hermie came out last, and it was Ron's turn to be shocked into speechlessness. Frothy dress robes of ice blue had a low neckline and tight sleeves that flared before the wrists. There was a slit that came up to Herm's knee, revealing sheer stockings that matched the dress and delicate blue sandals. Her curly hair was swept up in a swirl that was held in place by glittering blue gems. Pale blue and silver eyeshadow mixed together on eyelids that were normally devoid of any makeup. A silver chain with 'Hermione' in silver script hung around her neck, and silver and blue jangle bracelets adorned both wrists. Small silver hoops and a matching silver bell charm bracelet on her ankle finished the look.
Hermie, of course, was blushing furiously by this point. Sephie nudged Lexi and they chimed, "Aww, she's BLUSHING!"
She blushed more deeply and muttered," Oh, do be quiet, you two! I let you make me into a doll, isn't that enough?"
Sephie was about to reply, "No" when George's arm stole around her waist and he whispered, "Lay off, Seph. They're both new at this, and they're embarrassed enough as it is."
Sephie reluctantly agreed, then brightened as she asked, "Who's Harry taking?"
"Don't know. It's not Gin, though... she's going with Neville."
The six friends made their way down to the Great Hall, which was decorated in white in honor of winter. They weren't the first ones there. Ginny, Neville Longbottom, Justin Filch- Fletchly, and Rita Martinez were already there. Sephie and Lexi were thrilled to realize that they had met Rita in...you guessed it, NY, when she was visiting relatives there.
"Yo, my chicas! Was sup?" asked Rita, clinging to Justin's arm with an air of belonging that the others wore unconsciously as well.
"Not much, Reets, not much." Sephie grinned evily as Rita grimaced at the hated nickname.
Sure enough...
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Rita jumped at Sephie.
Lexi leaned over Draco's arm and shouted. "Cat Fight!!!!"
"Leave it to you three to start a fight before the party even starts," said Harry's dry voice.
"Don't get hurt!" said a high, girlish voice that made Lexi grit her teeth for a moment before she turned slowly to see a beaming Cho on Harry's arm.
"They won't, it's fake," said Lexi shortly. Then she said quickly, "I'm thirsty, Draco, should we get some punch?"
"Don't spike it!" called Cho playfully with a giggle. Draco had to stifle a smile as Lexi's nails dug farther into his arm.
"We won't," she sang out with a forced smile before practically dragging Draco away.
"And HE criticized ME?" said Lexi suddenly under her breath, making Draco's laugh ring out into the Hall as others started to pour in.
The party started in earnest then, and Dumbledore, Snape, Flitwick, and McGonagall decided to chaperone. Remus and Ally were confined to their rooms on threat of death from Sephie, but Snape refused to take back his offer to chaperone.
"Oh, no, you don't. I'm staying," was all he would say.
Draco dragged a protesting Lexi away, hissing, "Just grin and bear it, Lex."
Rita turned to Hermione and said politely, "Do you dance?"
"Sometimes."
"Well... have you taken any defense classes or gymnastics?"
"Both. Why ever do you ask?"
"Well....."
Suddenly Rita grabbed her wand and shortened her robes. Lexi noticed the move and bellowed, "FLIP TIME!!!"
Sephie ran over to the seventh year in charge of music and had her put on a fast paced song. Rita took her wand and waved it at Lexi, whose robes also shortened. As she started to point at Sephie, she said, "No need." The bottom five layers of her dress detached from the rest. She now had a short skirt like theirs.
"Rita Martinez, don't you..." started Hermione, too late; her dress was now to her knees with short sleeves, and she was in comfortable dancing shoes. As the opening bars of the song finished, Rita started running and completed a series of handsprings, landing on her feet with a bounce.
"Former cheerleader, obviously."
"Obviously. Don't hold it against her, Herm."
"I wouldn't, I was one, too."
"YOU?"
"Oh, Ron, shut up."
George stifled a laugh and grabbed Sephie's hand, pulling her onto the floor. Harry and Cho were already there. Lexi turned to Draco, who backed away. "Oh, no. I do NOT dance."
Lexi put her hands on her hips. "You DON'T, or you CAN'T?"
Before Draco could shoot back a fitting retort, Sephie cried out, "LEXI! GET YOUR FLIRTING PSYCHOTIC ASS OVER HERE, WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!"
Lexi noticed the choice of music and the position of her two friends and hurried over, shooting back at Draco, "I'll deal with YOU later."
She ran to point and struck a pose as a man's voice rang out, "Your mamas are NOT here to take care of you!"
They stood loosely and easily, waiting for the fast paced tempo to begin.
"Going to a party at the county jail, prison band was there they began to wail, the band was jumping up as we began to swing, you should have heard those mock tailed jailbirds sing, Let's rock, everybody let's rock, everybody in the old cell block, gonna dance to the jailhouse ROCK!"
The mix progressed as the girls ran down what seemed to be a cheerleading routine, complete with jumps, flips, and flirty moves that left the boys staring and all gasping.
The dance ended with them on the floor, then they pulled themselves back up and bowed. Suddenly braver, the dance floor was now flooded with people.
By about ten o'clock, Neville had already deserted Ginny in favor of going to sleep, and she was watching Harry, Lexi, and Sephie have fun with furtive glances. Only one glance at Hermione and Ron was suitable enough to send her off into laughter. Earlier Ron had tried to rile her into a fight, but she had said primly, "I am determined not to fight with you tonight, Ronald Wealsey." It seemed she had reneged on this determination extremely fast.
Suddenly she saw Cho slip away from a disappointed Harry and heard faintly, "...be right back, Harry, I'm going to the bathroom. Don't you move!"
"I won't," he promised.
Fully intending to cut in on Cho's 'date' and dance with Harry, Ginny was shocked to realize she was furtively following Cho out of the Great Hall... in the opposite direction of the bathroom.
Hooked with curiosity, Ginny followed Cho to the library, and farther back to the restricted section. Surprising enough, Madam Pince was nowhere in sight.
~I always thought she SLEPT in here,~ Ginny thought without much humor.
What drew her attention back to Cho was the huge, black, leather bound book that seemed to be extremely heavy from the way she struggled to put it on a table.
"The skins of a hundred wizards burned to death by an evil green flame," Cho murmured, running her hands almost lovingly over the surface. Then they reached the silver lock, which gleamed with a pure white fire that made the book seem even more evil.
"Damn that Lily Potter. Locking the book the way she did..."
Ginny bit her tongue to keep from gasping aloud at the mention of Harry's mother.
Cho continued muttering to herself. "Damn Dumbledore, too, for giving her the initiative. The spells in this book will destroy this goody two shoes world in the uttering of a simple word... not to mention her precious son. And EVERYONE knows that a witch is at her most powerful when she's pregnant... especially if the baby is a wizard itself... and with a witch as powerful as Potter, pregnant with a wizard as powerful as that boy..."
She tried to touch the lock, but she flinched away as if burned.
"Crap," she muttered. Then she clawed at a chain around her neck. A circular amulet appeared, and Ginny recognized the Dark Mark.
~ Supervisore, sono necessitante voi ~
A stream of green mist spewed out, taking the vague shape of a man.
"Pettigrew," a voice hissed that Ginny had heard many times in her nightmares. "Why have you summoned me?"
"Master, I can not open this book."
"What! Speak quickly, girl."
"Master, there are instructions on how to open the lock, but my eyes are not pure, so I can not read them."
Voldemort seemed to contemplate this silently... then he gestured. A piece of parchment made of the same mist floated before Cho's eyes.
"Read the spell."
"Spell, Master?"
"The spell on the parchment, moron! You're as slow as your father."
Cho read the spell aloud, and as soon as the last words were out of her mouth she clenched at her eyes in pain. She felt tears pouring out from under lids tightly closed.
"Master, what is happening?! My eyes..."
"The inscription on the lock can only be read by untainted eyes. Quite simply, my idiotic child, I've given you a new set of eyes."
Cho gasped as she brought her hands away from her face. What she had thought were tears pouring over her hands was in fact blood.
The inscription was now easily read, and Voldemort urged, "Hurry, my time grows short."
"This lock can only be opened by the one given the great amulet of Godric, a gift to the love of the Heir of Gryffindor. The girl must open it with full knowledge and not be under any charm whatsoever."
Voldemort cursed under his breath. "Bring the book to Nagini in the Chamber Below the Moon, servant. Continue the escapade with young Potter."
"At once, Mas..."
A small gasp was heard as Ginny no longer could no longer contain her horror. Voldemort could easily recognize the gasp from the Chamber of Secrets, and made no move to stop her as she fled in terror.
"She is of no matter to us, Cho. The girl is weak, a harmless entity."
Ginny ran faster than she ever ran before to find Lexi. She heard through the fourth year grapevine(which was extremely dependable, by the way)that Lexi had fought against Voldemort's minions before, and she needed to tell SOMEONE. She ran though secret passageways revealed by the twins for 'emergency purposes.' Of course, George failed to mention that snogging Sephie was an emergency. They didn't even notice her as she blew past them. She noticed, however... and had enough presence of mind to wrinkle her nose in distaste.
As she reached the Great Hall, she cursed under her breath in a string of words the twins would have been shocked... yet proud... to hear. Cho was back already, flirting shamelessly with Harry again.
"And he's buying every simper, that shmuck," Ginny muttered. Then her eyes were scanning the crowd for Lexi, lighting on her in a darkened corner.
Of course, Lexi and Draco were... you guessed it, snogging. Ginny just swallowed her loathing of Draco and strode over. With a simple twist, Lexi was away from Draco and Ginny was talking furiously under guise of a 'hear no evil' charm. Draco, glowering, moved to interfere, but Lexi's left hand went out and pinned him against the wall, never diverting her attention from Ginny's whispered narration.
Draco was just starting to get severely pissed when Lexi's eyes widened and she muttered a curse under her breath. Her face was totally pale, and Draco stopped protesting immediately.
"I tried to get to Harry," Ginny said, "but Cho beat me here."
"Doesn't matter, Gin. He wouldn't have believed you anyway. She's put a blinding spell on... him..." She trailed off as she looked at Ginny, tears streaming down her face.
"The dream," she muttered before taking off. Ginny ran to keep up.
"Where are we going?!"
"To get Seph! Have you seen her?"
"Why do we need..."
"Trust me, Sephie is more than what she seems..."
"More than a psychotic prankster obsessed with my brother?"
"Yup. But if that bitch opens that book, then the world's going to hell in a hand basket, and we're going with..."
"Wrong way!" Ginny yelped slightly. She grabbed Lexi's arm and swung her into what seemed to be a solid wall.
"Gin-" she started before blinking. She was standing suddenly in a darkened corridor, Ginny's red hair disappearing around a corner.
"Wait for me!"
By the time Lexi caught up to Ginny, she had already hauled Sephie away from George, once again ignoring the boyish protests.
"What do we do?" Ginny finished, gasping.
Sephie swallowed. "As much as I hate to say it, we have to tell Dumbledore. He'll understand, and he won't make a big production. Plus, we can trust him."
Lexi nodded. "I agree. Now, what about Herm..."
Ginny spoke up again. "Well, she WAS fighting with Ron..."
"Trust me, she still is. Come on."
They took off, leaving George to shrug and call after her, "I'll be in the Common Room!"
They got a hold of Hermione and headed to Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, sir?"
"Yes, girls?" he asked, blue eyes twinkling at them. Sephie gulped. "We need to talk."
"My office, girls, not here. Come along."
After explaining the whole situation to Dumbledore, he sat back, deep in thought.
"What can we do, Professor?" asked Hermione. Dumbledore turned to Ginny.
"Ginny, I'll have to ask you a favor. You needn't if you don't want to, but it will help enormous-"
"I'll do it!"
Dumbledore smiled at the young girl. "Very well, Ginny. Come here and stand next to me. I need you to think of the moment in time when you first started following Cho Chang. Okay?"
Ginny nodded and frowned, deep in thought. Suddenly it seemed that the moment was around them, and they were there. Sephie went to gasp, but Hermione clasped her hand over Sephie's mouth.
The whole scene unfolded to them slowly, and when Ginny started racing through the halls they found themselves back in Dumbledore's office.
The first thing Hermione did was ask a question. "Professor, why did Voldemort call Cho 'Pettigrew?' And... oh my God."
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I thought Cho herself had no idea. Apparently I was wrong. There are one of two choices here: She is either under a spell, or she is under a deep misconception."
The others looked puzzled, but Hermione nodded. "Cedric."
Ginny gasped, putting it together, but Dumbledore had to tell the two who were not aware of last year's Triwizard Tournament.
"My guess is that Voldemort has promised Cho that because he had killed her boyfriend Cedric, there would be a way to bring him back to life. Which, of course, there isn't. At least, not the way she would like him to be. That, plus the fact that her father is the second right hand man to Voldemort... well, it most likely wasn't hard."
"What can we do, Professor?"
"I need you girls to keep this a secret. Totally. Not Ron, not George, and not Draco, either, may be told. But whatever you do, don't let Cho and Harry be alone together. That will be the chance Voldemort... and Cho... needs."
"But how can we follow him without him knowing?"
Dumbledore was extremely serious now. He walked over to a drawer and opened it slightly, placing his hand inside. Lexi, on the other hand, wandered over to Fawkes' cage, and placed her hand inside. Fawkes leaned his head and placed it underneath her hand, rubbing against it. When Dumbledore turned around, he smiled.
"You may let him out, if you wish, Alexia."
"Thank you, Professor!" She opened the cage, and Fawkes left to circle the room and land on Lexi's shoulder, chirping softly.
"Harry Potter and, of course, myself, are the only ones whom Fawkes will do that to... and we each have a reason. Mind that, Alexia VAREN, and know that when the reason is revealed, it will help you in ways unforeseen at this time."
Lexi nodded. Then Dumbledore opened his hand. Five charm bracelets sparkled there, each with a single charm, each different.
"Oh, they're beautiful! What are they?"
"Invisibility charms. They will render the wearer invisible. I trust you girls will use them WISELY."
"FIVE, Professor?" asked Sephie. Dumbledore nodded. "There is yet another girl, one who will join you and make you stronger yet. For you five, together, will be the downfall of Voldemort." There was no uncertainty in his voice: He knew.
"That's what we were born for," Lexi whispered.
"Yes, it is. Harry, Ron, George, Draco, and yet another unknown boy shall help you, but you girls will be the main fighters, the main destroyers of Voldemort's rise."
He looked them each carefully in the eye. "You each have special powers and talents inside you that you MUST develop. If you discover a new one, don't deny it, as many wizards do. Embrace it and use it to increase your chances of an attack at any time, a confrontation at any place, and above all else: protect each other."
"We will," they said simultaneously.
"Good. Now, girls, I know you were having fun, but perhaps it would be best if you all went back to Gryffindor Tower."
They all nodded. "Thank you, Professor," they said, and filed out. Lexi hesitated, and Dumbledore mouthed to her, "TELL THEM."
She nodded and left.
Dumbledore sat down wearily. "Those girls..." he sighed, shaking his head slowly.
8
Draco, Ron, and George waited impatiently outside Gryffindor Tower for their dates. Harry wasn't there. He didn't tell them whom he was taking, but said he'd meet them in the Great Hall.
Suddenly the portrait hole swung open, and Lexi stepped out. Draco's jaw dropped.
Lexi's soft lilac silk robes were made in classic medieval style, with a LOW neck and full bell shaped sleeves. A slit rose to mid thigh height on her left side. Open toes satin high heels that matched the dress and ended bare legs revealed lilac toenail polish that was the same shade as her fingernails and dress. Her hair was curled in a mushroom puff on the crown of her head, laced through with gold ribbon. She wore a gold oval locket with a small rose on the front, dangly gold earrings, gold dangle bracelets on both arms, and a gold charm bracelet on her left ankle. The only charm was a small bell that jingled as she moved. Rainbow glitter covered her neck and shoulders.
Sephie followed, and George swallowed and licked suddenly dry lips. Emerald robes flowed down, bell like, to her ankles. The skirt was layered from about thigh length to ankle length. Surrounding the neckline, button line, and belt of her robes were tiny incandescent feathers that changed colors as she moved. Around her neck was an opal ribbon, hanging from which was a star pendant made of emeralds. Emerald slippers and a bell ankle bracelet that was charmed the same opal as the feathers finished her off.
Hermie came out last, and it was Ron's turn to be shocked into speechlessness. Frothy dress robes of ice blue had a low neckline and tight sleeves that flared before the wrists. There was a slit that came up to Herm's knee, revealing sheer stockings that matched the dress and delicate blue sandals. Her curly hair was swept up in a swirl that was held in place by glittering blue gems. Pale blue and silver eyeshadow mixed together on eyelids that were normally devoid of any makeup. A silver chain with 'Hermione' in silver script hung around her neck, and silver and blue jangle bracelets adorned both wrists. Small silver hoops and a matching silver bell charm bracelet on her ankle finished the look.
Hermie, of course, was blushing furiously by this point. Sephie nudged Lexi and they chimed, "Aww, she's BLUSHING!"
She blushed more deeply and muttered," Oh, do be quiet, you two! I let you make me into a doll, isn't that enough?"
Sephie was about to reply, "No" when George's arm stole around her waist and he whispered, "Lay off, Seph. They're both new at this, and they're embarrassed enough as it is."
Sephie reluctantly agreed, then brightened as she asked, "Who's Harry taking?"
"Don't know. It's not Gin, though... she's going with Neville."
The six friends made their way down to the Great Hall, which was decorated in white in honor of winter. They weren't the first ones there. Ginny, Neville Longbottom, Justin Filch- Fletchly, and Rita Martinez were already there. Sephie and Lexi were thrilled to realize that they had met Rita in...you guessed it, NY, when she was visiting relatives there.
"Yo, my chicas! Was sup?" asked Rita, clinging to Justin's arm with an air of belonging that the others wore unconsciously as well.
"Not much, Reets, not much." Sephie grinned evily as Rita grimaced at the hated nickname.
Sure enough...
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Rita jumped at Sephie.
Lexi leaned over Draco's arm and shouted. "Cat Fight!!!!"
"Leave it to you three to start a fight before the party even starts," said Harry's dry voice.
"Don't get hurt!" said a high, girlish voice that made Lexi grit her teeth for a moment before she turned slowly to see a beaming Cho on Harry's arm.
"They won't, it's fake," said Lexi shortly. Then she said quickly, "I'm thirsty, Draco, should we get some punch?"
"Don't spike it!" called Cho playfully with a giggle. Draco had to stifle a smile as Lexi's nails dug farther into his arm.
"We won't," she sang out with a forced smile before practically dragging Draco away.
"And HE criticized ME?" said Lexi suddenly under her breath, making Draco's laugh ring out into the Hall as others started to pour in.
The party started in earnest then, and Dumbledore, Snape, Flitwick, and McGonagall decided to chaperone. Remus and Ally were confined to their rooms on threat of death from Sephie, but Snape refused to take back his offer to chaperone.
"Oh, no, you don't. I'm staying," was all he would say.
Draco dragged a protesting Lexi away, hissing, "Just grin and bear it, Lex."
Rita turned to Hermione and said politely, "Do you dance?"
"Sometimes."
"Well... have you taken any defense classes or gymnastics?"
"Both. Why ever do you ask?"
"Well....."
Suddenly Rita grabbed her wand and shortened her robes. Lexi noticed the move and bellowed, "FLIP TIME!!!"
Sephie ran over to the seventh year in charge of music and had her put on a fast paced song. Rita took her wand and waved it at Lexi, whose robes also shortened. As she started to point at Sephie, she said, "No need." The bottom five layers of her dress detached from the rest. She now had a short skirt like theirs.
"Rita Martinez, don't you..." started Hermione, too late; her dress was now to her knees with short sleeves, and she was in comfortable dancing shoes. As the opening bars of the song finished, Rita started running and completed a series of handsprings, landing on her feet with a bounce.
"Former cheerleader, obviously."
"Obviously. Don't hold it against her, Herm."
"I wouldn't, I was one, too."
"YOU?"
"Oh, Ron, shut up."
George stifled a laugh and grabbed Sephie's hand, pulling her onto the floor. Harry and Cho were already there. Lexi turned to Draco, who backed away. "Oh, no. I do NOT dance."
Lexi put her hands on her hips. "You DON'T, or you CAN'T?"
Before Draco could shoot back a fitting retort, Sephie cried out, "LEXI! GET YOUR FLIRTING PSYCHOTIC ASS OVER HERE, WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!"
Lexi noticed the choice of music and the position of her two friends and hurried over, shooting back at Draco, "I'll deal with YOU later."
She ran to point and struck a pose as a man's voice rang out, "Your mamas are NOT here to take care of you!"
They stood loosely and easily, waiting for the fast paced tempo to begin.
"Going to a party at the county jail, prison band was there they began to wail, the band was jumping up as we began to swing, you should have heard those mock tailed jailbirds sing, Let's rock, everybody let's rock, everybody in the old cell block, gonna dance to the jailhouse ROCK!"
The mix progressed as the girls ran down what seemed to be a cheerleading routine, complete with jumps, flips, and flirty moves that left the boys staring and all gasping.
The dance ended with them on the floor, then they pulled themselves back up and bowed. Suddenly braver, the dance floor was now flooded with people.
By about ten o'clock, Neville had already deserted Ginny in favor of going to sleep, and she was watching Harry, Lexi, and Sephie have fun with furtive glances. Only one glance at Hermione and Ron was suitable enough to send her off into laughter. Earlier Ron had tried to rile her into a fight, but she had said primly, "I am determined not to fight with you tonight, Ronald Wealsey." It seemed she had reneged on this determination extremely fast.
Suddenly she saw Cho slip away from a disappointed Harry and heard faintly, "...be right back, Harry, I'm going to the bathroom. Don't you move!"
"I won't," he promised.
Fully intending to cut in on Cho's 'date' and dance with Harry, Ginny was shocked to realize she was furtively following Cho out of the Great Hall... in the opposite direction of the bathroom.
Hooked with curiosity, Ginny followed Cho to the library, and farther back to the restricted section. Surprising enough, Madam Pince was nowhere in sight.
~I always thought she SLEPT in here,~ Ginny thought without much humor.
What drew her attention back to Cho was the huge, black, leather bound book that seemed to be extremely heavy from the way she struggled to put it on a table.
"The skins of a hundred wizards burned to death by an evil green flame," Cho murmured, running her hands almost lovingly over the surface. Then they reached the silver lock, which gleamed with a pure white fire that made the book seem even more evil.
"Damn that Lily Potter. Locking the book the way she did..."
Ginny bit her tongue to keep from gasping aloud at the mention of Harry's mother.
Cho continued muttering to herself. "Damn Dumbledore, too, for giving her the initiative. The spells in this book will destroy this goody two shoes world in the uttering of a simple word... not to mention her precious son. And EVERYONE knows that a witch is at her most powerful when she's pregnant... especially if the baby is a wizard itself... and with a witch as powerful as Potter, pregnant with a wizard as powerful as that boy..."
She tried to touch the lock, but she flinched away as if burned.
"Crap," she muttered. Then she clawed at a chain around her neck. A circular amulet appeared, and Ginny recognized the Dark Mark.
~ Supervisore, sono necessitante voi ~
A stream of green mist spewed out, taking the vague shape of a man.
"Pettigrew," a voice hissed that Ginny had heard many times in her nightmares. "Why have you summoned me?"
"Master, I can not open this book."
"What! Speak quickly, girl."
"Master, there are instructions on how to open the lock, but my eyes are not pure, so I can not read them."
Voldemort seemed to contemplate this silently... then he gestured. A piece of parchment made of the same mist floated before Cho's eyes.
"Read the spell."
"Spell, Master?"
"The spell on the parchment, moron! You're as slow as your father."
Cho read the spell aloud, and as soon as the last words were out of her mouth she clenched at her eyes in pain. She felt tears pouring out from under lids tightly closed.
"Master, what is happening?! My eyes..."
"The inscription on the lock can only be read by untainted eyes. Quite simply, my idiotic child, I've given you a new set of eyes."
Cho gasped as she brought her hands away from her face. What she had thought were tears pouring over her hands was in fact blood.
The inscription was now easily read, and Voldemort urged, "Hurry, my time grows short."
"This lock can only be opened by the one given the great amulet of Godric, a gift to the love of the Heir of Gryffindor. The girl must open it with full knowledge and not be under any charm whatsoever."
Voldemort cursed under his breath. "Bring the book to Nagini in the Chamber Below the Moon, servant. Continue the escapade with young Potter."
"At once, Mas..."
A small gasp was heard as Ginny no longer could no longer contain her horror. Voldemort could easily recognize the gasp from the Chamber of Secrets, and made no move to stop her as she fled in terror.
"She is of no matter to us, Cho. The girl is weak, a harmless entity."
Ginny ran faster than she ever ran before to find Lexi. She heard through the fourth year grapevine(which was extremely dependable, by the way)that Lexi had fought against Voldemort's minions before, and she needed to tell SOMEONE. She ran though secret passageways revealed by the twins for 'emergency purposes.' Of course, George failed to mention that snogging Sephie was an emergency. They didn't even notice her as she blew past them. She noticed, however... and had enough presence of mind to wrinkle her nose in distaste.
As she reached the Great Hall, she cursed under her breath in a string of words the twins would have been shocked... yet proud... to hear. Cho was back already, flirting shamelessly with Harry again.
"And he's buying every simper, that shmuck," Ginny muttered. Then her eyes were scanning the crowd for Lexi, lighting on her in a darkened corner.
Of course, Lexi and Draco were... you guessed it, snogging. Ginny just swallowed her loathing of Draco and strode over. With a simple twist, Lexi was away from Draco and Ginny was talking furiously under guise of a 'hear no evil' charm. Draco, glowering, moved to interfere, but Lexi's left hand went out and pinned him against the wall, never diverting her attention from Ginny's whispered narration.
Draco was just starting to get severely pissed when Lexi's eyes widened and she muttered a curse under her breath. Her face was totally pale, and Draco stopped protesting immediately.
"I tried to get to Harry," Ginny said, "but Cho beat me here."
"Doesn't matter, Gin. He wouldn't have believed you anyway. She's put a blinding spell on... him..." She trailed off as she looked at Ginny, tears streaming down her face.
"The dream," she muttered before taking off. Ginny ran to keep up.
"Where are we going?!"
"To get Seph! Have you seen her?"
"Why do we need..."
"Trust me, Sephie is more than what she seems..."
"More than a psychotic prankster obsessed with my brother?"
"Yup. But if that bitch opens that book, then the world's going to hell in a hand basket, and we're going with..."
"Wrong way!" Ginny yelped slightly. She grabbed Lexi's arm and swung her into what seemed to be a solid wall.
"Gin-" she started before blinking. She was standing suddenly in a darkened corridor, Ginny's red hair disappearing around a corner.
"Wait for me!"
By the time Lexi caught up to Ginny, she had already hauled Sephie away from George, once again ignoring the boyish protests.
"What do we do?" Ginny finished, gasping.
Sephie swallowed. "As much as I hate to say it, we have to tell Dumbledore. He'll understand, and he won't make a big production. Plus, we can trust him."
Lexi nodded. "I agree. Now, what about Herm..."
Ginny spoke up again. "Well, she WAS fighting with Ron..."
"Trust me, she still is. Come on."
They took off, leaving George to shrug and call after her, "I'll be in the Common Room!"
They got a hold of Hermione and headed to Dumbledore. "Professor Dumbledore, sir?"
"Yes, girls?" he asked, blue eyes twinkling at them. Sephie gulped. "We need to talk."
"My office, girls, not here. Come along."
After explaining the whole situation to Dumbledore, he sat back, deep in thought.
"What can we do, Professor?" asked Hermione. Dumbledore turned to Ginny.
"Ginny, I'll have to ask you a favor. You needn't if you don't want to, but it will help enormous-"
"I'll do it!"
Dumbledore smiled at the young girl. "Very well, Ginny. Come here and stand next to me. I need you to think of the moment in time when you first started following Cho Chang. Okay?"
Ginny nodded and frowned, deep in thought. Suddenly it seemed that the moment was around them, and they were there. Sephie went to gasp, but Hermione clasped her hand over Sephie's mouth.
The whole scene unfolded to them slowly, and when Ginny started racing through the halls they found themselves back in Dumbledore's office.
The first thing Hermione did was ask a question. "Professor, why did Voldemort call Cho 'Pettigrew?' And... oh my God."
Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I thought Cho herself had no idea. Apparently I was wrong. There are one of two choices here: She is either under a spell, or she is under a deep misconception."
The others looked puzzled, but Hermione nodded. "Cedric."
Ginny gasped, putting it together, but Dumbledore had to tell the two who were not aware of last year's Triwizard Tournament.
"My guess is that Voldemort has promised Cho that because he had killed her boyfriend Cedric, there would be a way to bring him back to life. Which, of course, there isn't. At least, not the way she would like him to be. That, plus the fact that her father is the second right hand man to Voldemort... well, it most likely wasn't hard."
"What can we do, Professor?"
"I need you girls to keep this a secret. Totally. Not Ron, not George, and not Draco, either, may be told. But whatever you do, don't let Cho and Harry be alone together. That will be the chance Voldemort... and Cho... needs."
"But how can we follow him without him knowing?"
Dumbledore was extremely serious now. He walked over to a drawer and opened it slightly, placing his hand inside. Lexi, on the other hand, wandered over to Fawkes' cage, and placed her hand inside. Fawkes leaned his head and placed it underneath her hand, rubbing against it. When Dumbledore turned around, he smiled.
"You may let him out, if you wish, Alexia."
"Thank you, Professor!" She opened the cage, and Fawkes left to circle the room and land on Lexi's shoulder, chirping softly.
"Harry Potter and, of course, myself, are the only ones whom Fawkes will do that to... and we each have a reason. Mind that, Alexia VAREN, and know that when the reason is revealed, it will help you in ways unforeseen at this time."
Lexi nodded. Then Dumbledore opened his hand. Five charm bracelets sparkled there, each with a single charm, each different.
"Oh, they're beautiful! What are they?"
"Invisibility charms. They will render the wearer invisible. I trust you girls will use them WISELY."
"FIVE, Professor?" asked Sephie. Dumbledore nodded. "There is yet another girl, one who will join you and make you stronger yet. For you five, together, will be the downfall of Voldemort." There was no uncertainty in his voice: He knew.
"That's what we were born for," Lexi whispered.
"Yes, it is. Harry, Ron, George, Draco, and yet another unknown boy shall help you, but you girls will be the main fighters, the main destroyers of Voldemort's rise."
He looked them each carefully in the eye. "You each have special powers and talents inside you that you MUST develop. If you discover a new one, don't deny it, as many wizards do. Embrace it and use it to increase your chances of an attack at any time, a confrontation at any place, and above all else: protect each other."
"We will," they said simultaneously.
"Good. Now, girls, I know you were having fun, but perhaps it would be best if you all went back to Gryffindor Tower."
They all nodded. "Thank you, Professor," they said, and filed out. Lexi hesitated, and Dumbledore mouthed to her, "TELL THEM."
She nodded and left.
Dumbledore sat down wearily. "Those girls..." he sighed, shaking his head slowly.
8